Vision Rehabilitation Service Utilization

According to the Lighthouse National Survey on Vision Loss (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995), low vision clinical services, rehabilitation training in activities of daily living, and recreational services for persons with vision problems are used by 1 to 6% of persons age 45 and older who reported some form of vision problem (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995; Sussman-Skalka, Cimarolli, & Stuen, 2006).

Furthermore, only 2% of respondents reported using job placement and/or placement services, and 2% reported to have received counseling to help adjust emotionally to their vision problem (The Lighthouse Inc., 1995).

When asked why vision rehabilitation services were not used, a sizeable proportion of respondents reported being unfamiliar with their availability. Specifically, unawareness of each type of service was reported:

Low vision clinical services (21%)

Recreational services (19%)

Rehabilitation training in daily skills (16%)

Counseling services (12%)

Job training/placement services (10%)

Survey findings also revealed that 35% of middle-aged and older adults do not know if there are local public or private agencies in their community that provide vision rehabilitation services.